Online rly ticket booking registers sharp increase

Patna: Stripped of catering services from most of the express trains, the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) is focusing on online ticket booking system across the country.

Buoyed by the sudden increase in the online booking, the IRCTC has chalked out various plans to provide better services to its customers duly registered with its site www.irctc.co.in during peak festival time.

According to an official, the IRCTC has been making all possible efforts to expand its network in other private sectors. “Efforts are on to link our services to airline ticket booking operation also.

This would be a major thrust area for spreading our business,” he said, adding the premium Tatkal ticket booking online is another important area for it to streamline its services in the larger interest of passengers.
Railways online ticket reservation through the IRCTC site has registered an astronomical increase to about 4,00,000 bookings daily compared to about 40,000 bookings per day in 2008.

However, the IRCTC is likely to target about 7,50,000 bookings a day by 2015, an IRCTC official said adding Bihar has a major share in online ticket booking these days. More info